$5.8 million gift boosts bipolar research at University of Michigan

University of Michigan says a $5.8 million donation aims to boost the precision of care for people with bipolar disorder.

The gift is from the Richard Tam Foundation, bringing the foundation's total giving for related research efforts to $10 million, the Ann Arbor-based school said Monday. The new donation includes $500,000 for the university's Precision Health effort, which offers researchers access to genetic and clinical data.

The goal is to help doctors determine the right medicine for a patient more quickly and provide more treatment options, Foundation President Judith Tam said in a release.

The foundation has backed bipolar research efforts at the school since 2014. The school's Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program has been collecting genetic samples and other data for about 13 years.